If you happen to walk into Point Edwards' Ex-Servicemen's Club on any given Wednesday morning, chances are you'll find a group of men and women enjoying coffee and cookies, simultaneously engaged in casual conversation while also carving wood.

That's because each Wednesday, members of the Triple C Carvers club congregate at the Michigan Avenue facility to engage in their favourite pastime – making mini masterpieces out of wood.

Founded in the late Eighties by a group of friends who loved nothing more than whittling away to create wooden ducks, birds, geese and other waterfowl, the club has gained new members over the past 30 years and now has approximately 50 avid carvers, said long-time member Paul Chartrand.

“The club first started with maybe four or five guys altogether way back in 1988. It started in somebody's house,” he said. “After I joined in 1990 we used to go around to old folks homes, show them our carvings and stuff, and just sit down and talk to them. And we used to go to different spots to display our carvings, at places like Hobbyfest and like last fall when we went to Brigden Fair.”

The weekly gathering is a hive of creativity. Some work on pint-sized portraits made on pieces of bark while others work meticulously on wooden recreations of animals of all types, from cardinals and coyotes to wolves and water buffalo. One couple, long-time members Dennis and Mary Insley, work on intricately carved large-scale carousel animals, which they later sell on eBay.

Regardless of whether you're interested in making a small memento for your home or carving a magnum opus for all to see, the Triple C Carvers guarantee you'll be making treasures from trees in no time.

“Typically we'll get 30, 35 people out on any given day,” said past president Brian Savidant.“Some people join because they just want to give it a try. To get into it, all you need is a pocketknife and desire. After that you can do what you want – you can get yourself some fancy knives or stick with your pocketknife. But it's really like most hobbies – you make of it what you want to make of it. You can get fancy-pants expensive or you can pursue it inexpensively. Whatever turns your crank.”

Just as there are a wide variety of subjects one can work on at Triple C Carvers, there are equally as many ways to go about creating wood carvings, Savidant said. Methods include relief carving, wood-burning, chip carving or intarsia carving – a process where several pieces of carved wood are combined to make a larger piece. There are even members at Triple C Carvers who have mastered the art of carving creations out of golf balls.

Long-time member Laurie Wright said he's probably used every method there is in carving the 50-plus pieces he showcases at his home. Wright joined the club years ago after his wife spotted some superlative wooden carvings at a friend's home, whose husband happened to be a member of Triple C Carvers.

“I had a friend who had belonged to it and he was carving ducks. My wife met his wife and she said 'you've got to see these ducks', so I went down to see them and I immediately joined,” he said. “It was the first time I had ever carved. Since then I've done just about all types of carving – figure carving, woodburning, bowls – I've done it all.”

Asked if carving was a difficult hobby to master, Wright said it isn't – it's a matter of putting in the time. But being a member of Triple C Carvers is about much more than merely carving figures, he added.

“It takes time but over the years you improve each year,” he said. “But it's not really all about carving either. I really find that I just like coming here each week and talking to everybody and seeing what everyone else is doing.”

Savidant concurs.

“It's amazing what some of the carvers make in here but the most rewarding part for me is the social aspect of it. Until very recently I thought the three C's in the title meant coffee, cookies and conversation,” he said laughing. “But someone told me that it actually stands for Colborne, Cathcart and Christina (streets). People here are serious about carving, but they're also a lot of fun to talk to.”

With meetings every Wednesday from 9 a.m. until noon (except for a summer break between June and September) and an outreach program that includes carvings showcased at the Sarnia Public Library, carving demonstrations for Cub Scouts in Corunna and booths at both Hobbyfest and Brigden Fair, the club also provides members with the opportunity to show off their creations while encouraging new members to join.

“We're always well received by both the public and the members also love going out into the community too,” Savidant said. “And anybody can come down (to the Ex-Servicemen's Club) and join at anytime. Even if they just want to come in and take a look around, all it costs is $2, and we collect that just to cover the cost of rent and the coffee.”

“I think what people find is that carving is part of it, but the friendships they develop are really nice too.”

Triple C Carvers meet every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Ex-Servicemen's Club at 503 Michigan Ave. in Point Edward. For more information, call 519-466-6292.